GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, Sept. 17 - Fifa will issue record compensation to clubs for their players’ World Cup participation, French football is ahead of schedule with its direct-to-consumer streaming service, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Champions League league phase (17 Sept): Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Bayern have only lost one of their last 11 home games against English sides in the Champions League, and have won three of their last four games against Chelsea in the competition. Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. The head-to-head record between Liverpool and Atletico is split equally, as the teams have three wins each from the eight meetings. However, Atletico have had a shaky start to their La Liga campaign–with only one win in four games–and have Julian Alvarez, Thiago Almada, and Jose Gimenez unavailable for Wednesday’s bout. PSG vs. Atalanta, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Only one of the last 30 holders of the Uefa Champions League have lost their opening match in the following campaign, but it was at the hands of Italian opponents. See every Champions League fixture here.
Results…
Champions League: Athletic Club 0-2 Arsenal | Juventus 4-4 Dortmund | Tottenham 1-0 Villarreal | Real Madrid 2-1 Marseille | PSV 1-3 Union Saint-Gilloise | Benfica 2-3 Qarabag
EFL Cup, 3rd Round: Sheffield Wed 0-1 Grimsby Town | Brentford 1-1 Aston Villa (Brentford win 4-2 pn pens) | Crystal Palace 1-1 Millwall (Palace win 4-2 on pens)
TOP TALKING POINTS
FIFA Increase Payments to Clubs
FIFA is set to distribute a record $355m to clubs as compensation for players participating in the 2026 World Cup. The package, part of the expanded Club Benefits Programme (CBP), is up 70% from the $209m paid out after the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The increase is partly because clubs will now also be compensated for releasing players to World Cup qualifiers, not just the finals. In 2022, 440 clubs from 51 Fifa member associations received payments under the scheme, and the number of beneficiaries is expected to rise significantly.
The CBP was first introduced for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to create a more inclusive and equitable system for football.
Barca Stadium Delays Continue
Barcelona’s are set to host their La Liga fixture against Getafe at the 6,000-capacity Estadi Johan Cruyff, as they do not expect to be granted the First Occupancy License needed to reopen the Camp Nou in time. The stadium is used by the women’s team and Barcelona B. The club began the Camp Nou’s €1.5bn refurbishment in June 2023, and originally pencilled in a return last November.
Barcelona hosted Valencia at Johan Cruyff on Sunday, where only 4,000 season ticket holders could attend. Some fans reportedly snuck into the apartments directly across from the stadium and offered residents around €500 to watch the match from their balcony.
The club’s real challenge looms before their Champions League clash with PSG on October 1. Uefa requires stadiums to host at least one domestic fixture beforehand, so Barca are racing to stage their league match with Real Sociedad on September 28 at the refurbished Camp Nou, albeit with a reduced capacity of ~27,000. If Uefa rejects the venue, Barcelona may have to split European and domestic fixtures across two stadiums—something against current rules but potentially justifiable under “exceptional circumstances.”
French Football’s Streaming Landmark
French football’s new direct-to-consumer platform, Ligue 1+, has reportedly surpassed 1 million subscribers one month after launch, exceeding its end-of-season target. The service, the first of its kind among Europe’s top leagues, offers every Ligue 1 match live for €14.99 per month (12-month contract) or €19.99 without a contract, bypassing traditional broadcasters.
While promising, this revenue falls well short of previous TV deals worth around €500m annually. The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has set a goal of reaching 2.2–2.5 million subscribers within four years.
Notably, British broadcaster DAZN attracted around 500,000 subscribers when it held the rights to show Ligue 1 matches for around €400m per season. DAZN charged consumers €39.99 per month and didn’t show every Ligue 1 match per week, though it did also feature other sporting events.
POLL
If you could only pick one for your club this season, would it be domestic glory or continental success?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Newcastle have cancelled more than 100 season tickets, which it claims have been owned by “a small number of tour organisers” for a decade (More)
> UEFA and union FIFPro have called for action to safeguard player health, warning that the congested fixture calendar has reached a tipping point (More)
> Crotone, an Italian third division club, has been placed under judicial administration for a year after police found "sufficient evidence" of pervasive Mafia infiltration (More)
Americas
> U.S. Open Cup semi-final between Nashville and Philadelphia will conclude shortly after publication (Live Result); Minnesota vs. Austin will face each other in the other semi-final on Wednesday (Sept 17) at 20:30 local time (More)
> The NWSL rescheduled Seattle Reign vs. Racing Louisville in a closed-door setting and restarted at the beginning of the second half following abandonment of the fixture at half-time (More)
> The New England Revolution have fired head coach Caleb Porter after less than two seasons in charge (More) | Inter Miami vs. Seattle Sounders to conclude shortly after publication (Live Result)
> USL Championship’s mid-week fixture is Birmingham Legion vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday (Sept 17) at 11:30 local time (Standings)
Rest of the World
> Juan Mata is set to join A-League’s Melbourne Victory for the second time after leaving Western Sydney (More)
> Defending champions Al-Ahli fought back from two goals down to secure a 4-2 win over Uzbekistan's Nasaf in the Asian Champions League Elite (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think managers should adapt or stick to their philosophy?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🔄 Adapt (87%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Stick to philosophy (10%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
🔄 T.A: “Look at the greatest managers' successes, always adapting and utilising their players' strengths. What do they say? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
🔄 M.T: “Change is the only constant. The game constantly evolves, and managers need to evolve with it. That does not mean they have to abandon their base system or philosophy, but adjustments should be made as more progressive managers make adjustments. Today’s game is not the same game as 20 years ago because it evolves.”
🙅♂️ V.M: “If a company’s CEO changed tact every week, I wouldn’t bet on its long-term success. Why should it be any different in football? Managers should have a vision, be allowed to execute on their vision over a (relatively) long period of time, and only then will a club be able to benefit from the manager’s philosophy. This is all assuming the manager, like Ruben Amorim, has already implemented their philosophy successfully before.”
EXTRA TIME
ESPN ranks every Champions League team.
… and the CBS panel give this season’s predictions.
What's new in the Champions League?
Thomas Muller tours Vancouver. (video)
Does European football come at a Premier League cost?
Striker Moise Kean has a track on EA FC’s new game.
Inside Newcastle’s $300m deal, with Amanda Staveley. (podcast)
Ex-Bara defender Abidal forced to deny own death.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Pepe Reina, Mark van Bommel, Gerard Pique, Edgar Davids, and Zinedine Zidane–what is the connection?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Champions League
Olympiakos vs. Pafos (17:45)
Slavia Prague vs. Bodo/Glimt (17:45)
Ajax vs. Inter Milan (20:00)
Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea (20:00)
Liverpool vs. Atletico (20:00)
PSG vs. Atalanta (20:00)
EFL Cup, 3rd Round
Swansea City vs. Nottingham Forest (20:00)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
They were all sent off in their final professional match.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.
